Need advice on First Metal Detector!

[SirAlbertEinstein]

I've been a CRH for years, but have become more and more interested in metal detecting over the last few months. I've recently moved to an area where the majority of the homes were built in the 1940's and early 1950's and there are plenty of areas that haven't had any new construction since that time period as well. I'd like to spend no more than about 250, but would be willing to expand that number a bit with some good convincing . Any and all advice is welcome, favorite brands or specific models would be great. Also, would love any tips for a beginner. Thanks!

[ivan salis]

I like the delta 4000 --$279 with stock coil * --it has a 0 to 99 numbers type display -- is notchible , and is very light weight and easy to use .

[SirAlbertEinstein]

I like the delta 4000 --$279 with stock coil * --it has a 0 to 99 numbers type display -- is notchible , and is very light weight and easy to use .

Thanks, will be putting it on my research list!

[Smudge]

At that budget, I would seriously consider the Tesoro Compadre, complimented with a Garrett Pro Pointer, which makes target retrieval very easy.

The Compadre costs about $170, has a lifetime warranty, is very simple to use, has no TID screen to lie to you about the nature of the target or its depth, runs at a higher frequency (12 kHz) than the Ace so it hits much better on small gold, and comes wired with a 5.75" coil that is perfect for most areas you plan to hunt, especially trashy areas.

Good luck on your final choice!

[mts]

At that budget, I would seriously consider the Tesoro Compadre, complimented with a Garrett Pro Pointer, which makes target retrieval very easy.

The Compadre costs about $170, has a lifetime warranty, is very simple to use, has no TID screen to lie to you about the nature of the target or its depth, runs at a higher frequency (12 kHz) than the Ace so it hits much better on small gold, and comes wired with a 5.75" coil that is perfect for most areas you plan to hunt, especially trashy areas.

Good luck on your final choice!

I'd recommend the Tesoro Silver uMax instead of the Compadre. Then go out and get the ProPointer as well. Sure, it will be more than $250 total. But you will have a nice detector that will go pretty deep while still allowing you to adjust sensitivity which can be invaluable in certain conditions. A lot of people swear by the Ace 250 so it is probably a pretty good bet as well.

[underarock]

So you said your budget is 250?
Ok. thats enough for a decent used detector but if you buy a cheaper model your just gonna wonder. Especially since your never going to believe you got this right the first time around. If you don't care for the used model you bought you can always resell it and get a different one. Sometimes even making some money off of the deal in the process. People swear by certain brands like they were religions. Every metal detector breaks. Every metal detector has problems and issues. Most of the things I read about on the forums sound like user error 7 out of 10 times anyway. These are just opinions though.

I've only had the garrett pro pointer as my HH PP. I've also been without it and I must say I don't care for that.
Honestly if I don't have the HH PP I probably won't metal detect that day.
Your going to make more recoveries per hour with the pro pointer. I easily doubled my finds since having it.

Next thing is a decent digging tool. There is no buying cheap here. The cheapest ones will break immediately. The cheap ones that look ok will break in 2 days. I like to have a small shovel my hand digger/cutter and a screwdriver. I don't always carry the shovel for obvious reasons but when I need it its there.
My opinion predator tools.

In my opinion the tracker Iv is the best to learn with in the beginning for two reasons.
It lacks in depth against other competitors and it has no visual display to distract you with. The low depth is good because your only digging very small holes if any holes at all to make your recoveries which saves you so much time. I got more change than ever when I was using the tracker IV but i was not getting to that older silver change as much at all. I use the tracker iv as my backup if someone wants to join me because it takes 1 minute to learn.
I've owned an f2 and an ace 250 as well but for the ease of use, price and results I would buy bh tracker iv with the 4 inch coil for half the price of either of these any day of the week.
hope this helps.